Iran will parade its ballistic rocket achievements by sending monkeys into space next month. This was announced by Hamid Fazeli, head of the country’s space agency, Tuesday, Jan. 15. debkafile: Since firing the first Iranian-made satellite, the 27-kilogram Omid, in February 2009, Tehran has developed a rocket with a payload capacity of 330 kilograms, capable of placing nuclear warheads anywhere on the face of the earth. The Iranians habitually mask advances in their nuclear and missile programs as pure scientific research.